


Stains of a Soul

by AceDetective



Series: Soul Ink [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, College AU, Happy Ending, M/M, Multi, Roman and Virgil are roommates, Soulmate AU, Unhealthy Habits, Virgil needs to SLEEP, Virgil's parents are the worst, child abuse at the beginning, my baby deserves better, toxic parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 01:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15085700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceDetective/pseuds/AceDetective
Summary: Virgil double checked in the mirror before he left the dorm's bathroom. The doodles of his soulmates were hidden. Every mark covered up by his scarf and hoodie.Part of him despised covering up to hide the marks. It was August and the heat was unforgiving. Virgil felt sweaty, but he couldn't take off any layers. He couldn't risk anyone seeing his marks. Even if he attended a different university than his soulmates, he refused to face the rejection of his peers.Virgil used to love displaying his soulmarks. He remembered hours spent writing and doodling to his soulmates. They loved his art. Often, Red and Light Blue would draw their own in reply. Dark Blue would praise others' work.His parents used to think two would disappear, but it never happened. The doctors his parents sent him to said it was uncommon occurrence. The kids he attended school with told him he was a freak and his soulmates got each other to make up for being stuck with him. After years of mistreatment, Virgil caved in and stopped writing to his soulmates.





	Stains of a Soul

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration section wouldn't let me put all three in. This au was inspired by altruistic-skittles, sociallyawkward--fics, and sketchynebula.

Virgil checked the hallway outside his room and let out a relieved breath when he found it empty. Neither of his parents were upstairs. He could write to his soulmates without them interrupting.

Virgil was different. He didn't share a soulbond with one person like his parents and everyone else he'd ever met. He shared one with three different people. His parents couldn't stand it. They did their best to force him not to write. When they caught him, they broke his pens, took his paint and . . . Virgil didn't want to think of it. Writing was a risk, but he loved it.

His soulmates loved him and couldn't wait to meet him. Virgil lived too far away to meet them yet. He knew the three lived in the same town and already met in person. Virgil couldn’t deny the envy he felt whenever it came up. Life could be different, better, if he grew up with them.

He sat down, back pressed against the door and rolled up his sleeve. Pen in hand, Virgil observed his blank forearm. He pressed his pen down and began to doodle. Today, he took up his entire forearm with one doodle. He drew a dragon with its wing's widely spread.

His left arm tingled and he paused his work to check. He rolled up his left sleeve and smiled as he saw Red draw a prince with a sword in hand.

 _I LOVE IT!_ Red wrote once he finished.

Virgil smiled and added horns to his dragon's head. His arms tingled as Red worked and Light Blue added puffy clouds around the dragon.

"Virgil!" his mother called.

Virgil's heart dropped and he quickly wrote _"I need to go. <3"_ to his soulmates. He hid the words under his sleeves and put the pen in his backpack before leaving the room. He went downstairs and entered the kitchen.

"Took you long enough," his mother snapped. "You weren't writing, were you?"

Virgil flinched at her tone and shook his head, "No, ma'am."

He shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. His heart pounded in his chest. She would be furious if she discovered the truth.

"Tell me the truth, boy," his mother looked up from the stove.

He looked to the floor, "I-I was . . ."

His mother's eyes widened with rage and she put down the spoon in her hand. Virgil swallowed and met his mother's gaze.

His mother asked, "What have we told you?"

"It's not natural . . ."

"Exactly, honey. Now, come over here," her voice sickly sweet.

Virgil did as she said, knowing what was coming. He stood in front of his mother shaking. She lifted up her hand and slapped him in the face. Before he could recover, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to the sink. She turned the water on without turning the heat down and made him roll up his sleeves.

"Scrub it off," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Virgil put his arm under the water.

The scalding water burned, but he didn't dare touch the knob. He grabbed the washcloth on this sink and worked to scrub away the dragon he drew for his soulmates. He held back his tears as he watched his work disappear. Red and Light Blue's editions would remain until they washed their own arms. His purple dragon faded, leaving behind raw flesh.

He took his arm out from under the water and dried it off. He turned to his mother and showed her. She took the burnt arm and observed it.

"There, that wasn't so bad, right, Virgil?" she asked. "Now, let's take care of your arm."

His mother moved the sink's knob to make the water cold. She directed him back to the sink and put his arm back under the water. The cold water soothed his throbbing arm and he relaxed. His mother opened the cupboard and took out their first aid kit. She took out antibiotic ointment and cloth to wrap his arm.

"Now, baby, can you dry off your arm?" she asked.

Virgil nodded and grabbed the dish towel. He patted his arm dry and set down the towel. He turned to his mother and she applied the ointment and cloth. At least his mother helped when she had him take off his marks. His father forced him to do it himself.

As he looked at his bandaged arm, he questioned whether it was worth it to continue writing. He knew it was wrong of him. At his middle school, he was the only kid with more than one soulmate. It wasn’t like he could ignore two and only talk to one either. He needed a better solution. One that made him and his parents happy.

* * *

 Virgil double checked in the mirror before he left the dorm's bathroom. The doodles of his soulmates were hidden. Every mark covered up by his scarf and hoodie.

Part of him despised covering up to hide the marks. It was August and the heat was unforgiving. Virgil felt sweaty, but he couldn't take off any layers. He couldn't risk anyone seeing his marks. Even if he attended a different university than his soulmates, he refused to face the rejection of his peers.

Virgil used to love displaying his soulmarks. He remembered hours spent writing and doodling to his soulmates. They loved his art. Often, Red and Light Blue would draw their own in reply. Dark Blue would praise others' work.

His parents used to think two would disappear, but it never happened. The doctors his parents sent him to said it was an uncommon occurrence. The kids he attended school with told him he was a freak and his soulmates got each other to make up for being stuck with him. After years of mistreatment, Virgil caved in and stopped writing to his soulmates.

His grades skyrocketed as he used work to distract him his soulmates' writing. For the first time, his parents felt pride when they looked at their son. They told their friends how wonderful he was and how he'd be accepted into any college he set his eyes on. It almost felt worth it. He could have a good life without his soulmates and they, him.

The words on his body seemed like nothing when he heard what everyone said around him.

Now, he was a freshman in college and his soulmates stopped asking why he ignored them. The only responses they received from Virgil were ink stains and patches of paint. Sometimes Red and Light Blue question marks appeared beside his stains. Dark Blue never offered him any kind of acknowledgment.

Virgil finished unpacking his belongings and sat down on the bed on his side of the room. He glanced over at the bare bed on the other side and hoped it would remain empty. Any hope he had vanished as the door opened and revealed a trio of boys. The boy in the front, a tall, well-built ginger, paused and glanced at Virgil. The ginger walked to the other side of the room and set his arm full of bags down.

"I'm Roman Prince, your roommate," a charming smile graced the boy’s lips. "And these are my wonderful soulmates, Logan and Patton."

As he said the names he pointed to who they belonged to. Patton was the short blond with freckles. He offered Virgil a dimple filled smile as Logan watched him with a calculated stare. Logan's features were sharp, and his brown hair short and neatly combed back.

Virgil looked to Roman wary of the year ahead. Roman stared at Virgil expectantly.

"I'm Virgil . . ." his face flushed with embarrassment.

* * *

 Virgil stared at Roman's sleeping form in horror. Roman's arms had the same marks as Virgil's. Roman's alarm blared and snapped Virgil out of his trance. He rushed to his side of the room and threw on his hoodie to cover the rest of his arms. He heard Roman groan and fumble around for his phone to stop the alarm.

"You're up?" Roman asked.

Virgil turned to see his roommate looking at him in a half-sleep daze. Virgil shrugged and turned away as Roman climbed out of bed. Roman grabbed a red pen from his desk. He brought the pen to his left arm and starting to draw. Virgil bit his lip and ignored the tingling sensations. Dread filled him as he thought of hiding this from Roman all year. He needed to transfer rooms.

"Patton wants to know if you'd join us for breakfast," Roman said.

Virgil looked back and shook his head, "I can't. I need to study before classes tomorrow."

Roman's face fell, "I'll tell him."

Roman put the pen to his skin and the tingling sensation returned. To Virgil's surprise, a sense of sadness hit him. It wasn't his. He decided to ignore it, concluding it was from the soulmate bond.

"He says it's okay," Roman told him. "But he'll convince you to come another time. He's like that."

Roman smiled as he spoke about Patton. Virgil could see the love in his eyes and looked away. He spent this time content on his own and refused to ruin it by indulging in any want for his soulmates. He didn't need anyone to smile at him or talk about him with the fondness Roman did Patton. That didn't stop him from asking:

"How'd you meet?"

He regretted asking instantly. He couldn't miss the way Roman's eyes lit up and the smile that curled his lips. He shouldn't want to know. He didn't need to know.

"Come to breakfast and we'll tell you," Roman bargained.

Roman raised an eyebrow and smiled at his roommate. He'd take any opportunity to discuss his soulmates and it would allow him to become better antiquated with his roommate. Roman wasn’t sold on the emo yet, but Patton seemed to like him.

"Fine . . ." Virgil grumbled.

Virgil loved that smile already and crumbled when Roman flashed it. He didn't know how to get through the semester without giving himself away. He never expected to meet his soulmates. It was never a possibility before and Virgil wasn’t prepared.

Roman grabbed clothes from his closet and dressed quickly. He grabbed his phone, pen and his keys. Virgil followed him out of the dorm building and to the dining hall. The work was short. In five minutes, they spotted Logan and Patton waiting outside the dining hall.

"You came!" Patton exclaimed.

He leaped at Virgil and hugged him tightly. Startled, Virgil jumped back and the two almost fell to the ground. Virgil caught himself last second and felt relief as he realized what happened. If he allowed Patton to get hurt, Roman would hate him. He couldn't spend the year with a roommate who hated him.

"I'm sorry!" Patton exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine," Virgil assured. "Let's go inside."

He wanted to move before people started to notice the four. He didn't want to cause a scene. He didn't want to get labeled a freak before classes started.

Once inside, the group split up to gather breakfast, then met up at a table near the back. Virgil grabbed some cereal and an orange; simple and quick so that he could run away if needed. Roman and Patton returned with plates piled high with food. Like Virgil, Logan kept it simple and got coffee and toast.

Roman sat between his soulmates and smiled, "Virgil asked me how we met."

"Oh! The three of us attended the same school! So we met within a few years into elementary school!" Patton beamed.

Logan sipped his coffee, "The three of us communicated as we learned to write. Although, Patton preferred to draw for us."

"So did-" Roman abruptly stopped.

The trio exchanged looks and grew silent. Virgil stopped peeling his orange and looked up.

_And so did I._

Virgil watched the frowns on their faces. The three seemed happy before, but now, they didn't. He didn't understand why. They couldn't miss him.

"Our fourth soulmate," Logan finished. "We never met them and they stopped replying to us. We don't know what happened."

"You might be better off," Virgil offered.

He wanted to ease how they felt, but his attempt had the opposite effect. Roman's eyes flashed with pain as he glared at Virgil. Virgil's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

"No we aren't!" he growled. "How would you know?"

"Roman . . ." Patton whispered.

The blond frowned at his soulmate and placed his hand on his arm. Roman looked away from Virgil and his face softened. Virgil stood from the table, deciding now was a good time to duck out.

"Wait. Virgil, I'm sorry," Roman looked from Patton to him.

Virgil rubbed his arm as he took in Roman's words. He didn't mean to hurt the others. Or perhaps, he did. He didn't know. He didn't notice when his sleeve rolled up too far and revealed ink-stained flesh. Neither did Roman, but Logan did.

"Virgil," Logan said firmly. "What is that?"

Virgil looked down to his arm and saw the exposed marks. His eyes widened and he pulled the sleeve back down. He could recover from this. They didn't need to know.

"It's nothing," he swallowed thickly.

Logan narrowed his eyes, "So those marks don't match ours?"

Virgil gave a nervous laugh, "No. Why wouldn't I tell you if they did?"

Virgil hadn’t sat back down. He could run for it. He was closest to the door. Only Virgil couldn't go anywhere they couldn't follow. He couldn't escape. Part of him wanted to run until he couldn't anymore but to where? Roman lived in his room!

"Virgil, breathe," Patton placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Virgil ripped his eyes away from Logan and focused on Patton. The boy before him offered a smile. Patton dropped his hand from Virgil's shoulder and cupped his face in his hands.

"Is it true?" Patton asked.

Virgil's vision blurred as he nodded.

"Then why'd you stop?" Roman asked.

Virgil bit his lip. He didn't want to tell them. He got so tired of everyone thinking he was a freak. So he gave them up. He stopped talking to them and about them. He covered the marks and didn't read them anymore. But what kind of freak pushed his only chance at happiness away? He became an even bigger freak. How could he tell them that?

Patton let go of Virgil's face and took his hands in his own. Patton's eyes had tears in them, but he kept a small smile on his lips.

"You can tell us," Patton spoke slowly.

Logan interjected, "We deserve to know why."

"I just . . ." Virgil was going to be sick.

He couldn't do this. He didn't deserve to explain. He hurt them for years by ignoring them all. Every day reminding them of his existence with his accidental ink marks. It might be better if he left now and changed rooms. He could do better and keep his hands free from stains.

Logan had a point. They deserved to know. After that, he could take his leave.

He explained, "I was just . . . tired of being a freak. It made everyone else happier, so I stopped."

"So everyone else is more important than your soulmates?" Roman asked.

Virgil flinched at Roman's harsh tone. He knew Roman was right and it hurt. He looked at the front dining hall.

"I'm sorry," he choked out. "I should go."

"No! You don't get to leave us again!" Roman protested.

Logan reached out and put a hand on Roman's shoulder. The ginger looked over to him puzzled but calmed when he saw Logan's expression.

"If I may interject, you claimed we'd do better without you. Why is that, Virgil?" Logan looked over to him.

Virgil thought it was obvious. He was a freak. He wished they'd drop it and allow him to move on already. He was an oddity and shouldn't have this many soulmates. He was selfish and threw away his happiness.

Virgil looked to Logan and felt scrutinized under the other's analytical gaze. He realized the other was waiting for his reply.

"I'm a freak," he whispered.

He'd spoken so quietly, yet it felt like he was shouting the words at them.

"No, you're not!" Patton objected, tightening his grip on Virgil's hands.

"How so?" Logan asked.

"People shouldn't have three soulmates," Virgil was shaking. "But they shouldn't ignore them either."

"We have three as well," Logan reminded him. "We do not find it "freakish" as you do. Although, we had each other to growing up. You were on your own."

"He ignored us, Logan," Roman pressed.

Logan glanced at Roman. Moments ago Logan felt the same as Roman, but he considered what would push Virgil to ignore them. The trio had faced many people who didn't agree with having multiple soulmates. They always had each other for support. It wasn't limited to the words on written their arms, they had each other in person. Virgil had nothing but words without faces behind them. Compared to people in front of him, the words wouldn't seem as impacting.

"I understand Roman, but consider how you'd feel if you didn't have Patton or I growing up. It wouldn't have been easy," Logan reminded him. "Perhaps, we should move this conversation to your dorm?"

* * *

The walk back to the dorms was as short as the walk to the dining hall. To Virgil, it seemed much longer. As Virgil walked beside his soulmates, his stomach did somersaults. He kept his head down and didn't speak. No one spoke him. A fact only increasing his worries for the coming conversation. Patton glanced at him, as if he wanted to say something, but never dared to speak.

Roman used his ID to unlock the building door and held it open for them. Virgil walked in last and mumbled a quiet "Thank you." Roman glared back at him.

The four went to Roman and Virgil's room and settled in for the conversation. Virgil sat on his bed with his knees hugged to his chest. Logan sat at Virgil's desk, Patton on Roman's beanbag chair and Roman on his own bed.

He wasn't sure if he should speak or if one of them should speak first. He was the problem, so maybe he needed to say something? It wasn't like anyone else had explaining to do. It was all him.

He spent so much time trying to avoid meeting his soulmates, that he didn't know how to act now that he met them. What was he supposed to say? That his parents hated his multiple soulmates and pressed him to ignore them? That they never acted proud of him until he started to ignore his soulmates? How lame was that? He was pathetic.

Maybe he could salvage this? Convince them that they didn't need him? The three of them could continue on as they did before. He could move on and accomplish something with his freakish life. His parents wanted him to marry, but they never specified when. He'd figure it out.

"Virgil, perhaps we should start with why you stopped replying?" Logan spoke first, finally breaking the silence that loomed over them. "A more detailed version of your explanation."

Dread filled Virgil, he didn't want to tell them the truth. He needed them to hate him.

"I was done being a freak. We're not natural. So I stopped, and I'm happier."

The happier part was a lie, but they would never know. He needed them to think he was happier on his own, so they'd leave him alone.

It worked.

* * *

Neither Virgil or Roman could get a room change. The campus housing services put their priority on students who needed de-tripling. It would be the end of the semester before either of them could move.

Virgil did his best to avoid the dorm room. He hated it. He hated staying in public for so long, but he couldn't retreat to the room and risk seeing Roman. He left early in the morning when the ginger was still asleep and returned late at night. By then, Roman was either asleep or too busy working to acknowledge his entrance.

Today when Virgil crept into their shared room, Roman was still working. The ginger spared him a glance and put his fingers to his lips before gesturing to his bed. Virgil looked at Roman's bed to see Patton and Logan asleep, Logan holding the other close to him. Virgil looked away from them and set his bag down next to his desk. He grabbed a fresh set of pajamas and left to change.

When he came back, he climbed into his own bed and laid down. Sleep wouldn't arrive for a while, but he had to try. He usually woke up at seven to ensure he was out the door before Roman woke up. He might need to wake up earlier in case Logan or Patton were early risers. That only left him a few hours to sleep, as it was two A.M.

"Roman, come to bed," he heard Logan advise, in a groggy voice. "On average, a college-aged adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep."

Roman chuckled in response, "Of course, love. I'll just finish this question first."

"Roman," Logan warned.

Roman let out a sigh, "Fine."

As the two soulmates conversed, Virgil stayed as still as a board, hoping no one knew he was awake. He couldn't deal with all of them right now. Living with one was bad enough.

He heard Roman climb into bed and waited until he heard Roman start to snore before he relaxed. He pulled his phone out of his pajamas' pocket and checked the time. By now, it was nearing three, he wasn't going to sleep much tonight, if at all. He set his alarms and tried to sleep.

He laid awake all night. His alarm rang at seven and he groaned. He turned off the alarm and sat up in bed. The showers would be empty at least. He glanced over to the other bed and noted all three were still asleep. At least the universe gave him that. Virgil climbed out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes.

As he hoped, the showers were empty. He took a cold shower to help him wake up and quickly dressed. He returned to the room and put his shower supplies away, including his dirty clothes. He'd need to do laundry soon or he'd run out of clean hoodies. Virgil combed his hair and quickly applied his eyeshadow.

"Virgil?" a tired voice yawned out.

Virgil stiffened and looked to Roman's bed. Sandwiched in-between Roman and Logan's sleeping forms, Patton watched him. Virgil bit his lip and grabbed his backpack, ignoring Patton. He didn't want to risk the other two waking and having a confrontation. Besides, he needed to stop at the dining hall before he studied at the library.

"You okay?" Patton tried again.

Virgil looked at him and gave a swift nod. Virgil threw the textbooks he needed for today into his bag and slung it over his shoulders. He walked to the door and opened it.

"Virgil, you need shoes," Patton reminded, a small hint of humor in his voice.

Virgil stopped and looked down, noticing he forgot to put on his shoes. He blinked and looked back to Patton. He didn't want to deal with his soulmates this early, but at least it saved him from walking out without shoes.

He put his bag down and grabbed his shoes, "Thank you . . ."

He slipped them on without bothering to untie them and grabbed his bag again. This time when he left, Patton didn't say anything to him. Virgil walked down the hall and out of the building without any problems and knew that for now, he'd be left alone. He sighed in relief.

On his arm, he felt tingling and pondered if he should look or not. Roman and Logan were still asleep, Patton didn't have reason to write. He rolled up his sleeve and looked to his arm.

_Have a good day!_

Light blue ink. It was Patton, not that Virgil understood why he wrote that. He hadn't spoken to Patton since the day they met before their interaction this morning. He shrugged and pulled his sleeve back down. At least he knew Patton meant those words for him.

The fact left an odd feeling in Virgil's chest. Why would Patton write to him?

"Girl, you know it's rude to ignore your soulmates," a voice remarked.

Virgil whipped around to see a young man sitting on the picnic table outside the building. The man smirked and took a drink from the mug in his hands.

"It's none of your business," Virgil snapped at the man.

The man smirked and took off his shades, "Mmmm. Yeah, it is. That's my cousin and his soulmates you've been ignoring."

Virgil groaned and started to walk away. The man grabbed his mug and followed.

"Name's Remy. You must be the roommate who's always out I visit."

The man was Roman's cousin. That explained why he was in Virgil's face. Roman probably set him up to this. If Roman couldn't get Virgil out of his room by moving, then he'd harass him until he dropped out.

"Look! They're happy with just the three of them! Leave me alone!" Virgil stopped walking and turned to face Remy. "You can go tell Roman you tried! Now get lost!"

Remy frowned, "He didn't send me. I just want my baby cousin happy."

Virgil folded his arms and glared at Remy. He didn't believe a word of it. Roman was mad at him and barely said a word to him since their first day as roommates. He didn't want Virgil around. Virgil saw the grand gestures Roman planned for Logan and Patton. If Roman cared, he'd have tried something by now.

"I'm not his happiness!" Virgil snapped. "That's not my responsibility!"

"And what about your own?" Remy asked. For the first time, Remy sounded serious, "Kid, you look downright awful."

Remy folded his arms and observed Virgil. He knew he was right. The freshman was thin, pale and looked like he hadn't slept in ages.

"I'm happy," Virgil pressed.

Remy shrugged, "And that's why you're standing here arguing with me, rather than leaving. Look, soulmates take work. I get that, I'm not like Roman, who thought soulmates meant fairy tale endings."

Remy's phone went off and he checked it quickly. He smirked and looked up to Virgil.

"My coffee date ditched, so you're coming instead, m'kay?" Remy grabbed Virgil by the arm. "This way, we can continue our lil' chitchat. My treat."

Remy led Virgil away from the dorm building and to the library. He entered the building and directed the freshman straight to the Starbucks.

"What coffee do you drink?" Remy asked.

Virgil shrugged, "Any kind."

Remy smirked and ordered their drinks when they got to the front of the line and added a few pastries as well. He paid and directed Virgil to a table before grabbing their order and sitting down.

"Eat some of those, you're too thin," Remy pushed the bag of pastries into Virgil's face.

Virgil opened the bag and looked in to see what Remy got, as he didn't pay attention when Remy initially ordered. He grabbed a croissant and gave the bag back to Remy. Remy placed a napkin in front of Virgil and set down two more pastries on it.

"Now, back to this soulmate business. Whatever has you so hung up, ya need to forget it," Remy took a sip of his Starbucks.

"Why do you care if I'm happy?" he asked.

Remy smirked, "So you admit you aren't."

Virgil's eyes widened and he glared at Remy. He didn't like how easily Remy was reading him. He started to stand up, but Remy grabbed his arm.

"Finish eating first. And drink that coffee, girl. You're going to need it," Remy told him. "Unless you're going back to your dorm at a reasonable hour tonight."

As they talked, Remy played on his phone with a smirk on his face. Virgil wrote it off as Remy scrolling through some social media.

"So, Virgil, tell me what you think of Roman?" 

* * *

Roman stretched out his arms as he woke up. He smiled at the sight before him. Patton and Logan were squished together on the twin mattress, both contently asleep. He didn’t want to get up and wake them.

His phone beeped and he reached for it from his desk. Remy had sent him a message on Snapchat. Roman unlocked his phone and opened it. He gasped in surprise. The message was a picture of Virgil eating a croissant and not paying attention to the camera with the caption _“Look at the cutie I found this morning.”_

Roman swiped out of the message and into the chat.

_“What. Did. You. Do.”_

Roman let out a sigh. He shouldn’t have told his cousin anything. Roman should have known his cousin would take over and make the situation worse.

_“Girl, we’re just having a little chat.”_

Remy replied too soon. What was he doing up so early? There weren’t any classes today. Did he get up just to stalk Virgil? Roman groaned. This was just great. Virgil was going to freak out on Roman when he returned tonight. Roman knew it.

_“Leave him alone, Remus.”_

_“But he’s so cute! ;)”_

_“Remus. I can handle this on my own.”_

_“Girl.”_

Another message came in. Roman opened it. This time it was a video.

_“So Virgil, tell me what you think of Roman?”_

_In the video, Virgil shrugged, “I don’t know. He’s alright, I guess . . .”_

_Virgil fidgeted in his seat. He looked antsy, like he didn’t want to be there._

_“And Patton and Logan?” Remy’s voice asked from off the screen._

_“Logan’s fine. Patton’s nice.”_

_“So, they aren’t freaks?”_

_“They aren’t. It’s just me. I don’t deserve them.”_

The video ended there. Roman tapped the screen and a photo message came up. It was a selfie from Remy. His eyes were wide as if he was just hearing what was on the video. It was captioned, _“Girl, this might be harder than I thought.”_

Roman couldn’t believe what he heard either. So Virgil didn’t utterly hate the three of them like they thought. He didn’t seem very fond either, but that could change given time. Roman was more concerned with the fact that his soulmate considered himself a freak.

Roman typed back to Remy, _“What are you doing?”_

_“Might have ambushed him outside your dorm. ;)”_

Of course, his cousin would do that. He loved Remy, he really did, but his cousin was ridiculous. Just because Remy’s father was a therapist didn’t mean Remy had all the answers.

_“Leave him be.”_

_“All I did was buy him coffee! He might be headed back to the dorms now. You’re welcome.”_

Roman shook his head as the door of his room opened. As expected, Virgil returned. The purple haired boy ignored Roman as he put his bag down and collapsed onto his bed. Virgil let out a small groan and rolled over, kicking off his shoes.

“Are you going to stare, or let me go back to sleep?”

Those were the first words Virgil had said to Roman in a while. Roman went to reply, but Virgil rolled over and curled up. Roman wasn’t sure how the boy could sleep after just drinking coffee, but within minutes, he heard soft snores come from Virgil’s side of the room.

Roman looked to his other two soulmates, both of whom still slept soundly. He smiled and snuggled into them. He wasn’t going to sleep again, not after what he heard from Remy’s messages. He’d have to tell the other two when they woke up. 

* * *

When Virgil woke up again, he felt significantly better, despite sleeping in his makeup. He could fix that later. He sat up in bed and looked around the room. Everyone else was gone already. He felt relieved. After the talk with Remy, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with Roman.

He got out of bed and looked in his mirror. His eyeshadow was ruined. He grabbed a makeup wipe and started to take it off. Once he was done, he reapplied his makeup and threw out the wipe.

Behind him, the door opened.

“Good afternoon, Virgil,” Logan’s voice drifted into the room.

Virgil looked over at the door. The trio of soulmates were carrying grocery bags, having taken the weekend as an opportunity to stock up on what they needed.

“Hey,” Virgil grumbled.

Roman stepped into the room and set down the bags in his arms. He looked over to Virgil and looked as if he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hey, about this morning . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t know Remy’d do that.”

Virgil shrugged, “It’s fine.”

Virgil grabbed his shoes and started to put them on. Since he slept all day, he’d lost valuable study time. His parents would be disappointed if his grades slipped up.

“Virgil, wait. I think we need to talk,” Roman sounded unsure.

“He is, indeed, correct,” Logan added. “It seems we have a large misunderstanding between us.”

“Do we?” Virgil asked, his tone aggravated.

He wasn’t mad, but he really didn’t want to have this conversation with them. He should have known that Remy would tell Roman the truth. He couldn’t believe he allowed himself to forfeit the truth so easily!

“Kiddo, we just want to understand,” Patton pleaded.

“There’s nothing to understand, Patton,” Virgil remarked, reaching for his backpack.

Logan grabbed it before he could. Virgil glared in his direction. He couldn’t leave without his backpack. It was where he kept his wallet, student ID, room key, and phone. He wouldn’t be able to do anything without it, not even get back into his room or building if he went out.

“We were made aware that you believe you do not deserve us. Is that why you pushed us away earlier this semester?” Logan inquired.

Virgil’s face flushed and he clenched his hands. So, they knew the truth, it changed nothing. He could keep them away despite that. They would give up eventually. No one would put up with a horrible person forever because they were soulmates. They’d get fed up with his treatment of them one way or another. He just couldn’t give up.

“Why does that matter to you?” he asked. “I can do whatever I want.”

“It matters because you are our soulmate and you don’t deserve to be miserable,” Roman said. “You cannot tell me you get up that early every day and stay out until past midnight because you enjoy it.”

“Ever consider that I didn’t want to see you!” Virgil shouted.

Roman almost shouted back but stopped when Patton wrapped an arm around him.

“We have, but it’s not true,” Patton said.

“Yes, it is!” Virgil shouted.

“No, it’s not!” Roman shouted back. “You just don’t want to be happy!”

“I was happy before I met you!” Virgil screeched.

“Were you?” Logan interjected, moving to be between the two.

Virgil deflated as his mind raced to think of a reply. He wasn’t, he knew that. He just didn’t want to tell them that. If he did, they’d eventually get him to join their relationship, which he had to admit was something he wanted, but his parents would be so disappointed that their son was a freak again. He couldn’t let his parents down.

“Now, we all need to calm ourselves and talk this out,” Logan spoke evenly. “From there, you can decide if you really want us to go away or not. Currently, that statement is a lie.”

“You want the truth?” Virgil hissed. “The truth is, I’m so much of a freak my own parents hate me! They can’t stand that I have multiple soulmates! I stopped replying because, maybe, they’d be proud of me! And you know what Logan? It worked! They’re proud of me!”

Virgil felt hot, violent tears start to develop in his eyes, but he couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away. It didn’t matter if the three saw him cry, it changed nothing. Virgil glared at Logan through his tears, doing the best he could to shove down the awful feeling in his chest.

“That’s not fair!” Patton exclaimed. “You shouldn’t give up your happiness for theirs!”

The normally happy blond looked livid. He had let go of Roman and moved to stand directed next to Logan, in front of Virgil. He stood up straight, his shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists.

“They should love you no matter what!” Patton continued. “If they don’t see how wonderful you are; they aren’t worthy of you!”

Virgil was at a loss for what to say. How was he supposed to reply to that? Him, wonderful? That alone was a false statement. Maybe his parents should be better, but he wasn’t a good son either. He came nowhere close to wonderful as Patton claimed.

Finally, he spoke, “I’m not wonderful, Patton. They’re right.”

His words lacked the venom with which he’d spoken to Logan. He couldn’t force himself to get angry anymore.

“I WILL PHYSICALLY FIGHT YOU!” Patton screamed.

Roman reached forward and grabbed the blond by the waist before he could launch himself at Virgil. What Patton would do if he did tackle Virgil, Virgil was unsure. Roman didn’t speak, but he shook as he held his struggling soulmates in his arms. There was no way he was struggling to hold Patton back, so the shaking had to be from his emotions.

“N-no,” Logan looked to his partner in shock. “No one is fighting Virgil.” Logan turned to Virgil, “Although, Patton is correct. You deserve happiness, no matter the claims of your supposed family.”

Virgil nodded numbly, barely able to comprehend the scene before him. Patton lost it and that was something Virgil never witnessed before. He wasn’t sure he believed them though. His parents only showed that they cared for him once he’d stopped mentioning his soulmates, meaning besides that, they loved him. How could that not be the correct thing to do?

When Patton had calmed significantly, Roman released him, as he was no longer likely to tackle Virgil. The short blond stepped forward and stood in front of Virgil.

“Can I hug you?” Patton asked.

Virgil stared at him puzzled, it seemed like such an odd request. Why would he want to hug Virgil after just wanting to fight him, mere seconds ago? After a moment of consideration, Virgil nodded. Immediately, Patton threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly. Patton rested his head on Virgil’s chest and let out a content sigh.

Virgil wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Did Patton expect him to hug back? He felt too tense with his hands at his sides, but he doubted attempting to hug the other boy would make the situation any better. Despite the awkwardness, Virgil felt something warm grow in his chest. He smiled softly as he recognized the feeling and rested his chin on the top of Patton’s head.

There was something oddly comforting about Patton hugging him. Even though Virgil knew he shouldn’t be allowing this, he enjoyed it. The embrace was warm and felt filled with love. It reminded Virgil of how he felt when he used to write to his soulmates and when the tingling of his arms as they replied filled him with joy. He found himself starting to relax into the hug, his shoulders losing their rugged tenseness. Slowly, he brought his arms up and loosely hugged Patton back. For the first time in years, Virgil allowed himself to feel love for one of his soulmates.

“I thought you said I couldn’t fight him, Logan?” Patton said.

“I did?” Logan asked, wondering how his partner was fighting their soulmate.

“Well, I’m fighting his bad feelings with love!” Patton exclaimed.

Roman snorted back a laugh and Logan smirked. He should have known where that was going. This was Patton, their adorable goofball. Even Virgil couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

What felt like too soon, Patton pulled away. Virgil tried to hide the disappointment from his face, but he knew by Patton’s expression that he failed. Virgil realized that now there was no hiding. He’d screamed the truth to them, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care any longer.

That feeling was too good. He wasn’t sure if he could go without it again. Virgil’d starved the part of him that thrived off their love. Now that it finally received the smallest scrap, it screamed for Virgil to allow them to love him. The battle to contain it wouldn’t be one he could win, not with his soulmates right here in front of him. They were no longer mere words on flesh, but living people.

“Do you wish for us to leave you alone?” Logan repeated his question.

Virgil smiled, “No.” 

* * *

Virgil sat down with Patton on the beanbag as Roman and Logan settled onto the floor next to them. Virgil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt Patton cuddle into him and Logan place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

When he opened his eyes, he started to speak. He told them everything. How his mother and father would break his pens and force him to scrub away his words. The different doctors he saw about his soulbond. All of it came tumbling out as he sat, surrounded by the love of his soulmates.

Virgil didn’t notice when he started to cry. He only realized he was when Roman offered him a tissue from the box on his desk.

“Thanks . . .” he wiped his eyes, eyeshadow staining the tissue.

Logan stopped him as he tried to continue, “If recounting your reason causes distress, you can stop.”

Virgil was silent for a moment before he gave his reply, “Thank you.”

A large weight seemed to lift off Virgil’s chest. As much as he wanted to tell them, he couldn’t force out all the details without wanting to curl up and hide. If they wanted to wait for him to be ready, he’d allow it. All that mattered was the four of them.


End file.
